Letter 1
St. Petersburgh 0
, Dec. 11th , 17 -- TO
Mrs. Saville 1
,
England 2
You 1
will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which
you 1
have regarded with such evil forebodings .
I 3
arrived
here 0
yesterday , and
my 3
first task is to assure
of
my 3
welfare and increasing confidence in the success of
my 3
undertaking .
I 3
am already
, and as
I 3
walk in
the streets of
Petersburgh 0
6 ,
I 3
feel a cold northern breeze play upon
my 3
cheeks , which braces
my 3
nerves and fills
me 3
with delight .
Do
you 1
understand this feeling ?
This breeze , which has travelled from
the regions towards which
I 3
am advancing
7 , gives
me 3
a foretaste of
those icy climes 7
.
Inspirited by this wind of promise ,
my 3
daydreams become more fervent and vivid .
I 3
try in vain to be persuaded that
the pole 8
is
the seat of frost and desolation 77
; it ever presents itself to
my 3
imagination as
the region of beauty and delight 8
.
There 8
,
Margaret 1
, the sun is forever visible , its broad disk just skirting the horizon and diffusing a perpetual splendour .
There 8
-- for with
your 1
leave ,
,
I 3
will put some trust in
preceding navigators 9
--
there 8
snow and frost are banished ; and , sailing over
a calm sea 10
,
we 11
may be wafted to
a land surpassing in wonders and in beauty
every region hitherto discovered on
the habitable globe 13
12 .
Its 7
productions and features may be without example , as the phenomena of the heavenly bodies undoubtedly are in
those undiscovered solitudes 7
.
What may not be expected in
a country of eternal light 7
?
I 3
may
there 7
discover the wondrous power which attracts the needle and may regulate a thousand celestial observations that require only this voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent forever .
I 3
shall satiate
my 3
ardent curiosity with the sight of
a part of
the world 14
never before visited
7 , and may tread
a land never before imprinted by the foot of
man 15
7 .
These are
my 3
enticements , and they are sufficient to conquer all fear of danger or death and to induce
me 3
to commence this laborious voyage with the joy
a child 16
feels when
he 16
embarks in
a little boat 17
, with
, on an expedition of discovery up
.
But supposing all these conjectures to be false ,
you 1
can not contest the inestimable benefit which
I 3
shall confer on all
mankind 15
, to
the last generation 20
, by discovering
a passage near
the pole 8
to
those countries 7
21 , to reach which at present so many months are requisite ; or by ascertaining the secret of the magnet , which , if at all possible , can only be effected by an undertaking such as mine .
These reflections have dispelled the agitation with which
I 3
began
my 3
letter , and
I 3
feel
my 3
heart glow with an enthusiasm which elevates
me 3
to heaven , for nothing contributes so much to tranquillize the mind as a steady purpose -- a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye .
This expedition has been the favourite dream of
my 3
early years .
I 3
have read with ardour the accounts of the various voyages which have been made in the prospect of arriving at
the North Pacific Ocean 22
through
the seas which surround
the pole 8
23 .
You 1
may remember that a history of all the voyages made for purposes of discovery composed the whole of
our 26
good Uncle Thomas
24 ' library
25 .
My 3
education was neglected , yet
I 3
was passionately fond of reading .
These volumes were
my 3
study day and night , and
my 3
familiarity with them increased that regret which
I 3
had felt , as
a child 3
, on learning that
's dying injunction had forbidden
to allow
me 3
to embark in a seafaring life .
These visions faded when
I 3
perused , for the first time ,
those poets whose effusions entranced
my 3
soul
28 and lifted it to heaven .
I 3
also became
a poet 79
and for one year lived in a paradise of
my 3
own creation ;
I 3
imagined that
I 3
also might obtain a niche in the temple where the names of
Homer 29
and
Shakespeare 30
are consecrated .
You 1
are well acquainted with
my 3
failure and how heavily
I 3
bore the disappointment .
But just at that time
I 3
inherited the fortune of
, and
my 3
thoughts were turned into the channel of their earlier bent .
Six years have passed since
I 3
resolved on
my 3
present undertaking .
I 3
can , even now , remember the hour from which
I 3
dedicated
myself 3
to this great enterprise .
I 3
commenced by inuring
to hardship .
I 3
accompanied
the whale-fishers 32
on several expeditions to
the North Sea 22
;
I 3
voluntarily endured cold , famine , thirst , and want of sleep ;
I 3
often worked harder than
the common sailors 33
during the day and devoted
my 3
nights to the study of mathematics , the theory of medicine , and those branches of physical science from which
a naval adventurer 34
might derive the greatest practical advantage .
Twice
I 3
actually hired
myself 3
as
an under-mate in
a Greenland whaler 35
80 , and acquitted
myself 3
to admiration .
I 3
must own
I 3
felt a little proud when
offered
me 3
the second dignity in
the vessel 35
and entreated
me 3
to remain with the greatest earnestness , so valuable did
he 36
consider
my 3
services .
And now , dear
Margaret 1
, do
I 3
not deserve to accomplish some great purpose ?
My 3
life might have been passed in ease and luxury , but
I 3
preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in
my 3
path .
Oh , that some encouraging voice would answer in the affirmative !
My 3
courage and
my 3
resolution is firm ; but
my 3
hopes fluctuate , and
my 3
spirits are often depressed .
I 3
am about to proceed on a long and difficult voyage , the emergencies of which will demand all
my 3
fortitude :
I 3
am required not only to raise the spirits of others , but sometimes to sustain
my 3
own , when theirs are failing .
This is the most favourable period for travelling in
Russia 37
.
They 38
fly quickly over the snow in
their 38
sledges ; the motion is pleasant , and , in
my 3
opinion , far more agreeable than that of
an English stagecoach 39
.
The cold is not excessive , if
you 40
are wrapped in furs -- a dress which
I 3
have already adopted , for there is a great difference between walking the deck and remaining seated motionless for hours , when no exercise prevents the blood from actually freezing in
your 41
veins .
I 3
have no ambition to lose
my 3
life on
the post-road between
St. Petersburgh 0
and
Archangel 43
42 .
I 3
shall depart for
the latter town 43
in a fortnight or three weeks ; and
my 3
intention is to hire
a ship 44
there 43
, which can easily be done by paying the insurance for
the owner 45
, and to engage as many
sailors 46
as
I 3
think necessary among
those who are accustomed to the whale-fishing 47
.
I 3
do not intend to sail until the month of June ; and when shall
I 3
return ?
Ah , dear
sister 1
, how can
I 3
answer this question ?
If
I 3
succeed , many , many months , perhaps years , will pass before
you 1
and
I 3
may meet .
If
I 3
fail ,
you 1
will see
me 3
again soon , or never .
Farewell ,
,
excellent Margaret 1
.
Heaven shower down blessings on
you 1
, and save
me 3
, that
I 3
may again and again testify
my 3
gratitude for all
your 1
love and kindness .
Your 1
affectionate brother
3 ,
R. Walton 3
Letter 2
Archangel 43
, 28th March , 17 -- To
Mrs. Saville 1
,
England 2
How slowly the time passes
here 43
, encompassed as
I 3
am by frost and snow !
Yet a second step is taken towards
my 3
enterprise .
I 3
have hired
a vessel 48
and am occupied in collecting
; those whom
I 3
have already engaged appear to be
men on whom
I 3
can depend
50 and are certainly possessed of dauntless courage .
But
I 3
have one want which
I 3
have never yet been able to satisfy , and the absence of the object of which
I 3
now feel as a most severe evil ,
I 3
have
no friend 78
,
Margaret 1
: when
I 3
am glowing with the enthusiasm of success , there will be none to participate
my 3
joy ; if
I 3
am assailed by disappointment ,
no one 51
will endeavour to sustain
me 3
in dejection .
I 3
shall commit
my 3
thoughts to paper , it is true ; but that is a poor medium for the communication of feeling .
I 3
desire the company of
a man who could sympathize with
me 3
52 , whose eyes would reply to mine .
You 1
may deem
me 3
romantic ,
, but
I 3
bitterly feel the want of
a friend 53
.
I 3
have
no one 54
near
me 3
, gentle yet courageous , possessed of a cultivated as well as of a capacious mind , whose tastes are like
my 3
own , to approve or amend
my 3
plans .
How would such
a friend 55
repair the faults of
!
I 3
am too ardent in execution and too impatient of difficulties .
But it is a still greater evil to
me 3
that
I 3
am self-educated : for the first fourteen years of
my 3
life
I 3
ran wild on a common and read nothing but
Thomas 24
' books of voyages .
At that age
I 3
became acquainted with
the celebrated poets of
56 ; but it was only when it had ceased to be in
my 3
power to derive its most important benefits from such a conviction that
I 3
perceived the necessity of becoming acquainted with more languages than that of
.
Now
I 3
am twenty-eight and am in reality more illiterate than
many schoolboys of fifteen 57
.
It is true that
I 3
have thought more and that
my 3
daydreams are more extended and magnificent , but they want ( as
the painters 58
call it ) KEEPING ; and
I 3
greatly need
a friend who would have sense enough not to despise
me 3
as romantic , and affection enough for
me 3
to endeavour to regulate
my 3
mind
59 .
Well , these are useless complaints ;
I 3
shall certainly find
no friend 60
on
the wide ocean 61
, nor even
here 43
in
Archangel 43
, among
merchants 62
and
seamen 63
.
Yet some feelings , unallied to the dross of human nature , beat even in
these rugged bosoms 64
.
, for instance , is
a man of wonderful courage and enterprise 81
;
he 65
is madly desirous of glory , or rather , to word
my 3
phrase more characteristically , of advancement in
his 65
profession .
He 65
is
an Englishman 82
, and in the midst of national and professional prejudices , unsoftened by cultivation , retains some of the noblest endowments of humanity .
I 3
first became acquainted with
him 65
on board
a whale vessel 66
; finding that
he 65
was unemployed in
this city 43
,
I 3
easily engaged
him 65
to assist in
my 3
enterprise .
The master 67
is
a person of an excellent disposition 83
and is remarkable in
the ship 66
for
his 67
gentleness and the mildness of
his 67
discipline .
This circumstance , added to
his 67
well-known integrity and dauntless courage , made
me 3
very desirous to engage
him 67
.
A youth passed in solitude ,
my 3
best years spent under
your 1
gentle and feminine fosterage , has so refined the groundwork of
my 3
character that
I 3
can not overcome an intense distaste to the usual brutality exercised on board
ship 68
:
I 3
have never believed it to be necessary , and when
I 3
heard of
a mariner 67
equally noted for
his 67
kindliness of heart and the respect and obedience paid to
him 67
by
,
I 3
felt
myself 3
peculiarly fortunate in being able to secure
his 67
services .
I 3
heard of
him 67
first in rather a romantic manner , from
a lady who owes to
him 67
the happiness of
her 70
life
70 .
This , briefly , is
his 67
story .
Some years ago
he 67
loved
a young Russian lady of moderate fortune 71
, and having amassed a considerable sum in prize-money ,
the father of
the girl 71
72 consented to the match .
He 67
saw
once before the destined ceremony ; but
she 71
was bathed in tears , and throwing
herself 71
at
his 67
feet , entreated
him 67
to spare
her 71
, confessing at the same time that
she 71
loved another , but that
he 73
was poor , and that
would never consent to the union .
reassured the suppliant , and on being informed of the name of
, instantly abandoned
his 67
pursuit .
He 67
had already bought
a farm 74
with
his 67
money , on which
he 67
had designed to pass the remainder of
his 67
life ; but
he 67
bestowed the whole on
, together with the remains of
his 67
prize-money to purchase stock , and then
himself 67
solicited
the young woman 71
's father
72 to consent to
her 71
marriage with
.
But
the old man 72
decidedly refused , thinking
himself 72
bound in honour to
my 3
friend , who , when
he 67
found
the father 72
inexorable , quitted
, nor returned until
he 67
heard that
his 67
former mistress
71 was married according to
her 71
inclinations
67 .
" What
a noble fellow 67
! "
you 1
will exclaim .
He 67
is so ; but then
he 67
is wholly uneducated :
he 67
is as silent as
a Turk 76
, and a kind of ignorant carelessness attends
him 67
, which , while it renders
his 67
conduct the more astonishing , detracts from the interest and sympathy which otherwise
he 67
would command .